One fasts for health's sake under laws governing
health, fasts as a penance for a wrong done and felt as such. In
these fasts, the fasting one need not believe in Ahimsa. There is,
however, a fast which a votary of non-violence sometimes feels
impelled to undertake by way of protest against some wrong done by
society, and this he does when he as a votary of Ahimsa has no other
remedy left. Such an occasion has come my way.
When on September 9th, I returned to Delhi from
Calcutta, it was to proceed to the West Punjab. But that was not be.
Gay Delhi looked a city of the dead. As I alighted from the train I
observed gloom on every face I saw. Even the Sardar, whom humour and
the joy that humour gives never desert, was no exception this time.
The cause of it I did not know. He was on the platform to receive
me. He lost no time in giving me the sad news of the disturbances
that had taken place in the Metropolis of the Union. At once I saw
that I had to be in Delhi and 'do or die'. There is apparent calm
brought about by prompt military and police action. But there is
storm within the breast. It may burst forth any day. This I count as
no fulfillment of the vow to 'do' which alone can keep me from
death, the incomparable friend. I yearn for heart friendship between
the Himdus, the Sikhs and the Muslims. It subsisted between them the
other day. Today it is non-existent. It is a state that no Indian
patriot worthy of the name can contemplate with equanimity. Though
the Voice within has been beckoning for a long time, I have been
shutting my ears to it, lest it may be the voice of Satan otherwise
called my weakness. I never like to feel resourceless, a Satyagrahi
never should. Fasting is his last resort in the place of the
sword—his or other's. I have no answer to return to the Muslim
friends who see me from day to day as to what they should do. My
impotence has been gnawing at me of late. It will go immediately the
fast is undertaken. I have been brooding over it for the last three
days. The final conclusion has flashed upon me and it makes me
happy. No man, if he is pure, has anything more precious to give
than his life. I hope and pray that I have that purity in me to
justify the step.
Worthy of Blessing
I ask you all to bless the effort and to pray for me
and with me. The fast begins from the first meal tomorrow. The
period is indefinite and I may drink water with or without salts and
sour limes. It will end when and if I am satisfied that there is a
reunion of hearts of all the communities brought about without any
outside pressure, but from an awakened sense of duty. The reward
will be the regaining of India's dwindling prestige and her fast
fading sovereignty over the heart of Asia and there through the
world. I flatter myself with the belief that the loss of her soul by
India will mean the loss of the hope of the aching, stormtossed and
hungry world. Let no friend, or foe if there be one, be angry with
me. There are friends who do not believe in the method of the fast
for the reclamation of the human mind. They will bear with me and
extend to me the same liberty of action that they claim for
themselves. With God as my supreme and sole counsellor, I felt that
I must take the decision without any other adviser. If I have made a
mistake and discover it, I shall have no hesitation in proclaiming
it from the housetop and retracing my faulty step. There is little
chance of making such a discovery. If there is clear indication, as
I claim there is, of the Inner Voice, it will not be gainsaid. I
plead for all absence of argument and inevitable endorsement of the
step. If the whole of India responds or at least Delhi does, the
fast might be soon ended.
No softness
But whether it ends soon or late or never, let there
be no softness in dealing with what may be termed as a crisis.
Critics have regarded some of my previous fasts as coercive and held
that on merits the verdict would have gone against my stand but for
the pressure exercised by the fasts. What value can an adverse
verdict have when the purpose is demonstrably sound? A pure fast,
like duty, is its own reward. I do not embark upon it for the sake
of the result it may bring. I do so because I must. Hence, I urge
everybody dispassionately to examine the purpose and let me die, if
I must, in peace which I hope is ensured. .Death for me would be a
glorious deliverance rather than that I should be a helpless witness
of the destruction of India, Hinduism, Sikhism and Islam. That
destruction is certain if Pakistan ensures no equality of status and
security of life and property for all professing the various faiths
of the world, and if India copies her. Only then Islam dies in the
two Indias, not in the world. But Hinduism and Sikhism have no world
outside India. Those who differ from me will be honoured by me for
their resistance however implacable. Let my fast quicken conscience,
not deaden it. Just contemplate the rot that has set in beloved
India and you will rejoice to think that there is an humble son of
hers who is strong enough and possibly pure enough to take the happy
step. If he is neither, he is a burden on earth. The sooner he
disappears and clears the Indian atmosphere of the burden the better
for him and all concerned.
I would beg of all friends not to rush to Birla House
nor try to dissuade me or be anxious for me. I am in God's hands.
Rather, they should turn the searchlights inwards, for this is
essentially a testing time for all of us. Those who remain at their
post of duty and perform it diligently and well, now more so than
hitherto, will help me and the cause in every way. The fast is a
process of self-purification.
Birla House,
New Delhi,
12-1-'48
Harijan,
18-1-1948